HYDERABAD: Over 12 per cent of the convicts and around 23 per cent of undertrials in Telangana prisons are graduates and above, according to the Prison Statistics India 2020, released by the NCRB on Tuesday.
Among the 1,906 convicts, 421 are illiterate, 817 have studied below Class 10, 441 have studied till Class 10 and above but below graduation-level, 168 graduates of which 23 have a tech degree or diploma and 40 are post-graduates. Out of the total convicts, 1,211 are Hindus, 450 Muslims, 218 Christians, 29 Sikhs and two from other faiths. In the caste-wise breakup, 399 convicts belong to the SC community, 214 to the ST community, 678 OBCs and 619 from other communities.
Of the total convicts, 57.6 per cent are in the 30-50 age group, followed by 26.9 per cent in the 18-30 group and 15.5 per cent in the 50 and above age group.
Among the 3,946 undertrials, 720 are illiterate, 1,327 have studied below Class 10, 995 have studied till Class X and above but below graduation-level, 525 are graduates, of which 138 hold a tech degree or diploma, and 241 are post-graduates. Of the total, 43.2 per cent of undertrials are in the 30-50 age group, 45.3 per cent in the 18-30 group and 11.5 per cent in the 50 and above age group.
A total of 2,725 undertrials are Hindus, followed by 1,041 Muslims, 138 Christians, 14 Sikhs and 28 belonging to other religions. Of the total undertrials, 662 are SCs, 408 STs, 1,007 OBCs and 1,869 are from other communities.
The report added that five persons were awarded the death penalty in the State in 2020. The occupancy rate in Telangana prisons is 77.9 per cent against the national average of 118 per cent.